You’ve all seen movies with the opening shot of a dark apartment on skid row. With only the light from a neon sign from the bar across the street, the camera closes in through a dirty window, onto a man who is lying across his rumpled bed, smoking a cigarette, and sipping on a glass of whiskey. He’s unshaven, and hung-over from an alcoholic binge. The camera pans to a typewriter on a desk with a sheet of paper rolled up half-way. The blank, stark white paper is an angry retort to the man’s desperation. Next to the typewriter is a bottle of cheap whiskey, an ash tray, overflowing with dirty butts, and a stack of clean, white paper. He’s broke, hungry, and his gal has left him angry and bitter, but he still keeps her picture on his dresser. He rises, crosses over to the picture and looks longingly at the girl. He turns, and defiantly stubs out his cigarette. He drains his glass of whiskey and pours another. He holds the glass while staring at the crumpled papers all over the floor; then he finishes the last of his whiskey in one furious gulp. This guy is definitely a candidate for a bullet to the head. Continue reading “Sobriety vs. the Blank Page”
Category: Guest Posts
Facebook Ads Tutorial
Guest tutorial
by Nickie Storey Bailey
You may love or hate Facebook, but even with all the migraines caused by their constant changes, the company is one of the most popular social networking websites and that means many readers to possibly connect with.
I use Facebook ads at least three times a year. They are excellent for drawing attention to your author page or a particular URL/website. Do you have a book on sale or marked as free on Amazon? You can use Facebook ads to let thousands of people know about it. Are you hosting an event or book launch? Facebook ads can get the word out for you. The last time I created a Facebook ad, I got over 800 new ‘likes’ on my author page in five days.
There are several ways to use Facebook ads. In this tutorial, I am going to show you how to create an ad to get more ‘likes’ for your author page. The first thing to do is look on your Facebook page for a tab labeled Create an Ad. As I use these ads frequently, the tab is readily available in several places on my page. I do know it can be found at the bottom of your page and sometimes in the left-side bar where your Favorites, Pages, Groups, etc. are located. Continue reading “Facebook Ads Tutorial”
Writing Recipe #1
Guest post
by Ellen Plotkin Mulholland
Opportunity. Events. Writing a good story involves opportunities and events. It’s how you combine the two that moves the story along. I like to write with an event in mind and bring in opportunities to move my plot.
My nephew reminds me of another recipe for writing. Children see the world two ways, it’s obvious, it’s mysterious. When it rains, carry an umbrella. When you see a puddle, jump in it. It’s obvious. But why does it rain? How do clouds manage to float in the sky and not fall on our heads? Continue reading “Writing Recipe #1”
Book Promotion 101 – 7 Critical Marketing Principles for Authors
Promotion, especially for new Indie Authors, can look like a harrowing hike up Mount Kilimanjaro—fraught with slippery slopes, hair-raising heights, and dangerous cliffs. But it doesn’t have to be, not if you take it one step at a time. So let’s tighten our bootstraps and take a little hike. Continue reading “Book Promotion 101 – 7 Critical Marketing Principles for Authors”